CHAN 2014 SHOCKER! Mba dumps Nigeria for Bastia

Super Eagles’ 2013 Nations Cup hero, Sunday Mba, who is one of the players being relied upon to pull the strings at the forthcoming Championship of African Nations, CHAN, may not be available for the tournament after all, according to Head Coach Stephen Okechukwu Keshi.

Keshi revealed on Thursday that Mba was on his way to France to join Bastia, the French side that first indicated interest in the player after the African Nations Cup triumph.

Assistant Coach, Dan ‘the Bull’ Amokachi said the player is not one of the players listed for the friendly game in Port Harcourt on Saturday against a Rivers selected side.

“We have resigned ourselves to fate and working hard to discover those who can fill Mba’s shoes, as he seems to have nicked a deal with Bastia and may not be part of the CHAN tourney. We just need to brace up and wish him the best because it’s a career thing,” he said.

Also on Thursday,the pruning process of the CHAN Eagles continued with three players exiting camp. Keshi said they had all it takes to play for the national team but there was not time enough to fit them into the system. He promised to continue to monitor them for future call ups. “Take heart because as I always say, many are called but few are chosen. We will soon be back knocking on your doors.”

Those who left camp on Thursday were Sunshine Stars’ Kingsley Onome Eduwo, Bendel Insurance’s Bello John Ikeleji and Eric Kwame of Plateau United. More players are expected to exit the camp of the national team after the training game in Port Harcourt and Monday’s other practice match against Nigerian league champions, Kano Pillars.

Meanwhile, the Super Eagles medical team has assured the technical crew that Kano Pillars’ Gambo Mohammed will be ready on time for the CHAN tourney. Gambo, who has been out with a harmstring problem, recovered last week but there was a relapse in the course of the week which forced him out of Thursday morning’s training. “He should be back and better”, Amokachi assured of the highly regarded striker.